FTC Sends $15.8 Million to Cleo AI Customers and $100,000 to GOAT Shoppers. Here's How the Payments Work and How to Avoid Scams
More than 2.1 million Cleo customers are getting PayPal payments. The FTC says it never asks people to pay or share account information to get a refund.
Original reporting from public records by Watchman Report staff ·
The Federal Trade Commission said Oct. 8 that it is sending more than $15.8 million to 2,124,796 customers of the cash-advance app Cleo AI who paid for eligible instant cash advances. Eligible customers will get an email from [email protected] between Oct. 8 and Oct. 26. PayPal payments begin Oct. 27 and must be redeemed within 30 days. The refund administrator is Rust Consulting, at 1-877-788-4958.
In a March 2025 complaint, the FTC alleged that Cleo advertised cash advances of "hundreds of dollars" when almost no customers got close to that amount, charged hidden fees for same-day or instant advances that often arrived the next day, and made subscriptions hard to cancel. These are the FTC's allegations. The FTC said its actions in 2025 led to more than $435 million in redress for consumers.
The FTC also said Oct. 6 that it is sending more than $100,000 to 6,205 customers of the sneaker and apparel marketplace GOAT. GOAT had already refunded more than $736,000 directly to customers in 2025, the FTC said. Most people will get checks, which must be cashed within 90 days; those paid by PayPal must redeem within 30 days. The administrator is JND Legal Administration, at 1-888-970-2410.
In its 2024 complaint, the FTC alleged that GOAT did not ship "priority" orders as promised, did not give customers the option to consent to delays or cancel, and denied or only partly honored "Buyer Protection" refunds, sometimes giving store credit instead. These are allegations by the FTC.
By Watchman Report's own calculation, dividing the totals by the number of recipients, the average payment is about $7.44 per Cleo customer and about $16.12 per GOAT customer. Individual amounts vary.
Scam warning: the FTC says it never asks people to pay money or provide bank or account information to get a refund. Anyone who gets a message demanding a fee should report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
Watchman Report read the FTC's Oct. 8, 2026 press release on Cleo AI, its Cleo AI refund page and its Oct. 6, 2026 press release on GOAT. Average payments were calculated by Watchman Report by dividing the FTC's stated totals ($15.8 million and $100,000) by the stated number of recipients, and are approximate because the FTC describes the totals as "more than" those amounts.
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